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Thermoelectric recovery of waste heat - Case studies

Conference Paper · January 1997

DOI: 10.1109/IECEC.1997.661919 · Source: IEEE Xplore

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 IECEC.97

PROCEEDIT{GS OF
THE THIRTY-SECOIVD

IIVTERSOCIETY
ET{ERGY CONVERSION
E IV GI T{ E E RI N G C O I,{ F E, KE T{ C E

VOLIJME 2

Electrochemical Technologies
Conversion Technologies
Thermal Management

July 27 - August 1, 1997

Honolulu, Hawaii

American Institute of Chemical Engineers

345 East 47th Street, New York, NY 10017
 #97022

THERMOELECTRIC RECOVERY OF WASTE HEAT - CASE STUDIES

Michael D Rowe
GaoMin
Simon GK Williams
Azzeddirc Aoune
Cudiff School of Enginedng
Division of Eleclronic Enginmiig
PO Box 689 Newport Road
Cardifi CFl 3TF, Wales.

Kenji Matsuura
OsakaUnivmity
Departmern of Eleclrical Engine€ring
Yamada{ka 2-1, Suita Osaka 565, Japan.

Vladimir L Kuznetsov
Iotre Physical-Technical Institrl€
194021, St Petesburg Russia

Li Wen Fu
Microelectronics Institute
Tsinghua University, Beijing" China.

ABSTRACT
The use of waste heat as an energy source for thermoelectric
generation largely removes the constraint for the wide scale
application of this technology imposed by its relatively low
conversion eIflciency (tpicatly about 5%). Paradoxically, in
some parasitic applications, a lo*. conversion effrciency can be
viewed as a distjnct advantage. However, commercially
available thermoelectric modules are designed primanly for
refrigerating applications and are iess reliable w,hen operated
at elevated temperatures. Consequently, a major factor which
determines the economic competitiveness of thermoelectric
recovery of waste heat is the "cost per watt divided by the
mean-time between module failures". In this paper is reported
the development of a waste, warn water powered
thermoelectric generator, one target in a NEDO sponsored
project to economically recover waste heat. As an application
of this technology case studies are considered in vtrich
thermoelectric generators are operated in both "active" and
"parasitic" modes to generate electrical power for a central
heating system. It is concluded ttnt, in applicadons *fien the
supply of heat essentially is free as with waste heal
thermoeleckics can compete economically with conventional
methods of electrical power generation. Also, in this
situation, and when the generating system is operated in a
parasitic mode, conversion efflciency is not an important
consideration.
INTRODUCTION
The unchecked increase in the human population and the
growth of human economical and social activities is
accompanied by a continues increase in energy requirement.
The earth's energy resources are finite, with con{irmed
recoverable reserves ofuranium, petroleum and nahral gas, at
the present rate of conzuinption becoming exhausted within
fifty years (Japan Energy Conseryafion Centre, 1994/5). A
country which is more mjndf,:l than most of the need to save
energy is Japan. The Eco-Energy City Project launched in
1993 is aimed, among other thilgs, to develop the innovative
technologies and energy systems of eflicient recovery of low
temperature industrial waste heat. In 1995 the Japanese New
Energy and Technology Organisation (NEDO) awarded a
substantial contract to the thermoelectric group at the
University of Wales, Cardifl UK to research the recovery of
1ow temperature waste heat using thermoelectrics.
The possibility ofusing thermoelectric technology to convert
large quaritities of low temperahue waste heat into electrical
power has been considered for over twenty years and has been
explored conceptually (Benson and Jayadeq 1989) and
experimentally (Matsuwa et al., 1983, Matsuura and
Kinoshita, 1984, Matsurra, et al. 1991, Rowe, 1993).
However, the NEDO sponsored project is the lrst indepth,
broad based, long-term programme ofresearch into this area
of technology. This paper reports on the construction and
evaluation of a prototlpe warm-waste water powered
thermoelectric generator and the case studies describe two
modes ofapplication ofthe technology (active and parasitic) in
producing electrical power for a central heating system.
WASTE-WATER POWERED THERM OELECTRIC
GENERATOR
The active component of a thermoelectric generator is the
module. These are available commercially but are, in general,
designed for operation in the Peltier mode as refrigerating
devices. The thermoelements are alloys based on bismuth
telluride, which is the established semiconductor material for
operation aromd and below room temperature, and the device
is assembled using fabricadon technology appropriate to its
intended temperature regime of operation. At the onset of tire
project only one company manufactured "generating modules"
based on bismuth telluride technology for use at elevated
temperahres. These modules, together with those obtained
from all known manufacturers were evaluated in order to
identiS those most appropriate for use in a "low temperature"
waste heat thermoelectric generating system. The module
characteristics investigated were: power output, cost p€r watt
and reliability.

1075
 cost-per-watt for 16 diflerent modules obtained from 9
Module Power Output and Cost Per Watt manufacturers. Module prices, which were quoted for small
A single module generator was assembled which facilitated numbers, range from more than €60 per watt to around €3 per
module assessment under realistic operating conditions. watt.
Maximum power output was measured for individual modules
using a technique which minimised self+ooling and overcame 70
difliculties in measuring shod circuit currents for these very @r:80K) qpe
60
low resistance devices. The maximum power outputs as a
ftnction of temperature difference for commercially available =50
.6 4W
modules comprisirg (a) 127, and (b) 31 or 50 thermoelements :40
are displayed in Figures 1a and b. 3l1s
a30 :],,re

u20 $ it'L*
t0 f; .r:r; ii: iio, ''Jir*g,L*,-*
0
E r,r
'... '..:.
.... $ ''"\1i**g$Ff
FIGURE 2: COMPARISON OF THE COST pER WATT
a A(D OF COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE MODULES, WHEN
I OPERATED IN THE GENERATION MODE AT A
-f
I B(D
c(t TEMPERATURE DIFFERENCE OF 80K
O {< D(D
f a E(i)
o
0 E(ii) Module Reliabilitv
g E(iiD
O r^ Module reliability is of paramount importarice in the long
o ,.u E F(ii)
t6 F(iii)
term operation of a thermoelectric generator. Two test
procedures were employed iri investigatng this characteristic:
= (i) Continuous operation with a temperature gradient across
the moduie, (ii) "Siorage tests" in a uniform high temperature
environment.
40 60
The eiectrical power output was used as a degradation
indicator for the former, and the module,s a.c. electrical
Temp. difference (K)
resistance for the latter. The change in the a.c. resistance of
(a) several thermoelectric modules from diflerent manufacturers
are displayed in Figwe 3. It is apparent that very significarit
3.0 ircreases in electrical resistivity (15-Zj%) occurred during the
test period of76000 hours.

t-
-
f
)n
--
c
o 1.30
b 1.5
tu
3 ct) 1.25
o tr
CL lE
i6 1.0
1.20
o .15
o 1
o _a-
0.5
cG 1.10 Mc.t
.2 1.05
-r- Mc2
--^-.MC3
a
o 1.00 -V_. MK 1
t, -. MK2
20 40 60 80 100 o 0.95 --a-. Mt 1

Temp. difference (K) 0.90

(b) 0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10qlo

FIGURE 1: THE MAXIMUM POWER OUTPUT AS A
FUNCTION OF TEMPERATURE DIFFERENCE FOR
COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE MODULES COMPRISING
(a) 127 AND (b) 31 or 50 THERMOELEMENTS.
Time ( hours )
FIGURE 3: AC RESISTANCE CHANGES oF MODULES
MC1, MC2, MC3, MK1, MK2, MI1 AND MP1.

In order to protect their identity they are referred to as A-H.
ln the case of the 127 element modules, the power output of
devices from different marrufacturers can vary by more than a
factor of two. A similar wide variation is also found in the
cost-per-watt. ln Figure 2 a comparison is presented of the
Obtaining meaningful operational life-time estimates for
thermoelectric modules, when operating in the generation
mode at elevated temperatures, requires measurement on a
very large number ofmodules. An alternative procedure has
been developed which utilises published data on modules

1076
when operating il
the coohng mode (Rowe and Fu, 1997).
Application of this technique indicated that a ball-park
medium life of the modules tested was around 3 years, if
operated with a hot-side temperature of 100C. This implies
that the power output of half the tested modules would reduce
by 10% after 3 years continuous operation at this temperature.
This is in good agreement with oru experimental results.
However, as indicated by out data and published information
(Marlow, 1991, Komatsu, 1995, ITI, 1995), the rate of
degradation in performance depends strongly on the modr.rles
origin of manufacture viz. its quality factor (R.owe and Gao,
1997).
Svstem Construction and Performance
A schematic of the thermoelectric recovery system is shown
in Figure (4). Thermoelectric modules with the "highest
performance" are sandwiched between heat exchangers
machined from aluminium plate.
Therelsaic
modul€s
Electri€l pfler oubul
FIGURE 4: SCHEMATIC OF WATT-2O GENERATING
SYSTEM
Hot water at a temperature of around 98C from a simulated
waste water supply flows through the hot side heat exchanger,
and circulating water at around 20C through the cool water
heat exchanger. Effrcient transfer of heat between the heat
exchangers and the module's hot and cold sides is crucial in
power generation. The heat transfer characteristics ofthe hot
and cold heat exchangers were investigated in detail using
FLIIENT, a computational fluid dl,namics package. The
analysis provided guidelines which enabled a degree of
optimisation to be achieved for the temperature profile across
1077
the systern" channel aTrect ratio, inter-channel fia structures,
water flow rate and water inlet direction with respect to the
heat exchange surface. The features were incorporated in the
generator's design. The power density has progressively
improved from 6.25 kW(e) m-3 obtained in WATT-20 to the
present 25 kW(e) m-3. This is about half the estimated limit of
50 kW(e) achievable using improved technology but without
thermoelement material improvement. A number of
generators have been constructed and are identiired by the
acronym WATT (Waste-heat Alternative Thermoelectric
Technology). The latest generator WATT-100 is shown in
Figure 5. It consists of 36 modules, each having 31
thermocouples, and produces about 95 Watts r*tren operated at
a hot and cold side temperatures of 97C and 14C respectively.
FIGURE 5: WATT - 100 GENERATOR SYSTEM
ECONOMICS
In applications when the cost of the heat supply is low, or
free as in the case of waste heat, economical thermoelectric
generation depends upon the systems capital cost and
reliability. The thermoelectric modules are the major cost
item and, based on WATT-100, account for an estimate g07o
of the generating systems. The systems reliability is
essentially determined by that of the modules which is
measured by the mean-time between breakdown. In Figure 6
is displayed realistic estimates of the cost of electricity (per
kilo-watt how) as a ftrnction of mean-time between
breakdown (period of operation).
The family of full curves reflect the range in the price of
commercially available modules, and the broken cuwes
correspond to improved modules under development at
Cardiff. These improved modules possess high
thermoelement packing densrty, urhose geometry has been
optimised for maximum power generation @owe and Min,
1996). Also shown is the consumers purchase price of
electricity in the UK, curently at f,0.8 per kW h. It is
apparent that a generator employing the most cost effective
commercially available module with a seven year time
between breakdown, would produce electricity at a price
which matches that from the conventional utilities. Employing
Cardifls advanced generating modules would reduce this
 period to tfuee years. Evidently in waste heat recovery using
thermoelectrics the efliciency of the thermoelectric modules
and hence that of the generating system is not of prime
Another situation where the efliciency of the
generathg system is not a main consideration is when it
operates in "parasitic mode" and intercepts heat intended for a
specific purpose as described in the next section.
1.O
0-9
€ 0.8
5
Y
D 0.7
:
-E
o.
€! o.s
o
0.4
={
S o.s
,o
3 0.2
0.1
0.0
5101520
Operating period (years)
FIGURE 6: COST PER KTLOWATT HOUR AS A
FUNCTION OF OPERATING PERIOD FOR
DIFFERENT MODULES.
CENTRAL HEATING SYSTEM
Thermoelectric modules can be incorporated in a central
heating system and operate in either an active or parasitic
mode. In the active mode 'Vaste heat" is thermoelectrically
converted into electrical power. The ..hot side', of bismuth
telluride modules would be located in the flow of waste
exhaust gases and the cold side in contact with the circulating
central heating water. krdividual modules are available at
around f,4 and produce about 1.5 watts of electricity, when
operated at hot arid cold sides of250C and 50C respectively.
Twenty modules are required to provide the 30 Watts to drive
an average UK domestic central heating pump. Assuming that
installatior/modiryhg the boiler costs €65, tti" tot t estimated
cost is less than t150. Modifing the modules to operate at a
higher temperature would enable 3 Watts to be generated at a
temperature diilerence of 250K. The required number of
modules is reduced to 10 and is accompanied by a reduction in
total cost to less than €1 10.
Irr the "parasitic" operating mode the modules are
"intermediate" between the heat source and the waterjacket,
as shown ia Figure 7. The heat input provided by thegas/oil
burner passes through the thermoelectric generator before
reaching the central heating hot-water exchanger. The
generator converts about 5oZ of the input heat to electrical
power, the remainder of 95%o transfers to the hot-water heat
exchanger for its intended use in heating the radiator system.
Modules based on lead telluride technology are appropriate.
These devices would produce about 25W when operated with
1078
a hot side temperature of 550C and a cold side of 50C. The
number of modules required to power the circulating pump
would be reduced to two. Assuming the lead telluridi
modules are double the cost of those based on bismuth
telluride, 500W (e) could be generated for less than [250.
rto{rcCic
}lo(htqt!.*
FIGURE 7: SCHEMATTC oF pARAStTtC AppLtCATtON
OF THERMOELECTRIC GENERATING SYSTEM.
CONCLUSION
A prototype 100W(e) thermoelectric generator has been
constructed and used to demonstrate that this technology can
be used to generate electrical power using low temperature
heat from waste water. When operated over a s€ven year
period, a thermoelectric generator, constructed usmg present
day module technology, would produce electrical power at
a
cost which is competitive with that of the major utilities.
The
rncorporation of improved modules under development at
Cardiffwould reduce this operating period to tfuee years.
The "disadvantage" ofa relatively low conversion efficiency
can, in some situations, be viewed positively and be used to
an
advantage. A low conversion elliciency indicates that a major
proportion of input heat to the thermoelectric generator
is
unused and dissipated from its cold side and consequently
is
available for use in its intended manner (parasitic operation;
In this situation a thermoelectric generator can be used as an
intermediate device, serving as both a heat transfer device and
as an electrical power generator.
It is concluded that in applications when the source of heat is
free or when the generator is operated in a parasitic mode, the
conversion efficiency is not an important consideration. The
main factors which determine the economic competetivness of
this application of thermoelectric technology is capital cost
(cost per watt) and module reliability
lmean time between
failures).
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Japanese New Energy and krdustrial Technology
Development Organisation O{EDO) is acknowledgeO foi
supporting this pro.j ect.
 REFERENCES

Benson, D. K. and Jayadev T. S., 1980, Proceedings, 3rd

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Program and Abstract of XI Intemational Conference on
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Matsuura, K. and Kinoshita, H., 7 984, Proc eedings, 5 th
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